Chapter 38

Hermione returned to work almost feeling that she had gone back to another world. The humdrum life and slight absurdities of the Ministry seemed like a world away from the high tension dramas of the Slytherins. And then there was Draco, he just ploughed ahead relentlessly. She wasn't even thinking about what she'd agreed to, it sat there in the back of her mind trying to get attention, but she wouldn't let it. She was trying to get her balance just from being on vacations with the mental Slytherins.

She missed him though, during the day. It was like she was addicted to him now, she couldn't quite make it through the day without him. She craved him. Occasionally she had to close her eyes and just imagine him with her, imagine him talking in her ear, touching her shoulders.

She got a note from Ginny telling her to meet for lunch down at the Leaky Cauldron. Her life had become so compartmentalised, there was her life with Draco, then his friends, her comfortable existence with the Gryffindors, then her family and her muggle life. None of them gelled. Her family didn't like the magical world, Harry was the only person who understood the muggle world, but he was effectively leaving it behind. She felt torn. She loved four of the worlds, and the one she didn't came extricable tied with Draco.

Hermione arrived at the Leaky Cauldron shortly after noon and found the gang there, Ginny, Harry and Ron.

"God, it's good to see you all," she said when she sank down in the booth.

"How was your trip to Egypt?" Harry asked.

"Good." She didn't want to mention the seedy part of the trip. For some reason she didn't want to highlight the more awful things of the Slythrin society. It would only serve as fodder. Not that she wanted them to think good of the Slytherins, maybe she just wanted them not to think so horribly of her by association. "It was warm and the water was nice. There was a slight Slytherin infestation at this particular resort, but once you saw past that, I could highly recommend it."

"Did you see the Pyramids?" Ron asked.

"Yes, we spent the night out there," she said tentatively. She knew Ron was particularly sensitive to anything alluding to her sleeping with Draco, or Blaise for that matter. But maybe he just had to grow up and get over, particularly so on light of the news she was about to depart on them.

Harry and Ron rabbited on about Auror training and Hermione half listened. She was too preoccupied trying to word her news. The timing just never seemed right. She categorically could not leave this catch up without saying anything, she told herself. Eventually she decided to bite the bullet and just deal with it.

"There was this kind of development in Egypt," she started trying to get her voice to sound cheery, but it came out a little more like someone trying to spin doom.

"Oh," Ginny prodded when Hermione didn't continue.

"Yes, well, we kind of agreed to make our relationship more … formal."

"Formal? What does that mean?" Ginny asked. There was deathly silence around the table.

"These things are apparently important to him," she specifically didn't use his name around Harry and Ron, it seemed to be better that way.

"Formal as in what?" Ginny continued. She was like a pit-bull with a bone. Hermione was happy to leave it there, it would suffice in terms of confessions, but Ginny would not let up. "What, as in marriage?"

"Well, he didn't use those words exactly, but I think along that effect." Hermione cleared her throat. The silence around the table was even more pressing.

"What, with Malfoy?" Ron finally blurted out. "Have you completely gone bonkers? Wha…?" Ron shrugged like he couldn't made sense of her at all.

"I know it's a bit sudden."

"Sudden? He's a pureblood," Harry stated. "Hermione, he's a pureblood, you can't be serious."

"I know his blood status, Harry," Hermione defended herself. This was not going well. Not that she had expected it to.

"Harry is right," Ginny said. "Not just pureblood, he is elite pureblood. We're pureblood, but he is one of them. How in the world are you going to fit into that world? You are not raised to live in that world. I couldn't even imagine you wanting to. Are you sure you know what you are doing?" The problem was that she wasn't. She knew all of what Ginny said, it preyed on her mind.

"I love him," she finally confessed.

"Sometimes, that can sound like the most pathetic three words in the world," Harry said.

"I know you do, but this is something else. This is about more than that, Mione. You would be committing to being part of their world," Ginny said. Hermione couldn't say anything. Everything they were saying was true and she knew it. "He won't bend to fit with you, you will have to give up your muggle heritage." It was a truth that had sat in the back of her mind, one that she had been too afraid to face. Ginny highlighted it with a spot light.

"You need to think seriously about this," Harry said. "If you think he is going to soften, I think you're wrong. He might love you, but he is a pureblood and he will never be anything else."

"You think I don't know this?" Hermione said with distress. "I am well aware what he is."

"We are outside of that society," Ginny said. "I can tolerate any peculiarities that Harry has, even that odd fascination for those books made up of pictures he insists on going into muggle London to buy." Harry blushed slight. "But pureblood society does not tolerate anything. You would have to live with that for the rest of your life, you would have to give up your job."

Hermione felt like crying, but refused to. They were dumping the stark truths on her, ones she had been trying to avoid. She had this hope that Draco would be a bit flexible, that he would work with what she wanted, but part of her suspected that he wouldn't. His intention was to indoctrinate and acculturate her.

As much as she tried, and she had considerable brain power at her disposal, she couldn't think her way out of this one. She felt the lunch feeling like utter shit.

She went straight into Draco's arms when she got home. No matter what, it made her feel better. If everything was absolutely fucked in the world, including him, wrapping her arms around him and just feeling him there made her feel better.

"I'm sorry, baby, but we have to go out tonight. I completely forgot about it, but I can't say no."

Hermione winced, but she surmised that she would be spending the evening with Draco and tonight she needed to be with him, no matter where it was.

"Tough day?" he asked. She nodded into his shoulder. "No matter, you're here now."

They ate quickly then dressed for the evening. She had lots of dresses to choose from now, it just became normal. Once dressed they apparated and ended up at Flint's house. Flint was there with his European fiancé, he didn't look happy about it, but apparently his duty required him to.

Draco seemed to sense that she needed him that night, so he stayed fairly close. Blaise was there with a date, he gave her a wink when Draco was pre-occupied elsewhere. She wanted to roll her eyes, but that would probably only serve to get Blaise's attention even more. He would find some way to challenge her on it, so she pretended that she didn't see it. He didn't like that either. She wondered if Blaise was going to turn into an even bigger problem. She felt that he hadn't had his last word just yet.

Suddenly there was a sound of breaking glass Hermione instinctively turned towards the commotion, where Daphne was standing with a broken champagne flute at her feet. She was staring disbelievingly between Nott and Astoria, of whom neither was looking at her from their seated positions.

Oh God, Hermione thought. Daphne must have found out what was going on between them. Daphne's hand went to cover her mouth as she stood there staring. Hermione's heart clenched for the girl. Daphne was sweet, she didn't deserve this. Then she began running through the crowd that was standing still. Hermione felt that quite a few people realised what was going on. A girl Hermione didn't know ran after Daphne, while Astoria stood up and gingerly put her champagne flute on the table and walked out the room with her head held high. Nott just stayed where he was. The bastard.

The buzz started in the room as soon as Astoria left.

"God, that's awful," Hermione said.

"It's Nott's fault. He will have to deal with the fallout," Draco said. Hermione wasn't so sure, she was pretty sure that it would be Daphne that would have to deal with it more than anyone.

People returned to what they were doing.

"There was the evening's entertainment," Pansy cooed.

"You're a bitch, Pansy," Hermione said.

"Never agued with that, although Astoria might be a serious contender for the top spot." Hermione for once might actually have to agree with Pansy.

"I think it's perhaps time to go," Draco said tightly. Hermione couldn't agree more.